Image reading device and image forming device

ABSTRACT

A device includes a light source; a first guiding unit that guides the light from the light source to an object at prescribed incident angles including a first incident angle and a second incident angle; a signal generating unit that receives light and that generates an image signal based on the received light; a second guiding unit that guides the light reflected from the object to the signal generating unit; and a control unit that controls the first guiding unit to guide the light from the light source to the object at least two different incident angles including the first incident angle and the second incident angle, and controls the signal generating unit to generate image signals for the at least two different incident angles.

This application claims the benefits of Japanese Patent Application No.2005-299265 filed on Oct. 13, 2005 and Japanese Patent Application No.2005-307416 filed on Oct. 21, 2005, which are hereby incorporated byreference.

BACKGROUND

1. Technical Field

The present invention relates to obtaining information on texture of anobject, and in particular to obtaining information on glossiness andunevenness of an object.

2. Related Art

Surfaces of objects have many different textures as well as colors.Texture of an object includes glossiness and unevenness of the object.For example, a surface of a polished metal has a smooth and glossytexture, whereas a surface of cloth or fabric has a unique uneventexture caused by the warp and woof of the cloth or fabric.

FIG. 18 illustrates the nature of reflection of light from an object. Itis generally understood that when light is impinged on a surface of anobject at an incident angle θ1 and reflected from the object at areflection angle θ2, the reflection angle θ2 is equal to the incidentangle θ1 (Law of Reflection). However, in reality, light is not onlyreflected from the surface of an object at the reflection angle θ₂ butis also reflected at other angles.

This is because a reflective plane (a surface of an object) is notalways flat, and has a degree of unevenness. When a reflective plane hassuch unevenness, the light is reflected at various angles due to theunevenness.

In the present invention, “specular reflection” means a reflection oflight from a macroscopic reflective plane with a reflection angle whichis substantially equal to an incident angle, and “specularly reflectedlight” means light thus reflected; and “diffuse reflection” means allreflections of light from the macroscopic reflective plane other thanthe specular reflection, and “diffusely reflected light” means lightthus reflected.

In the attached drawings, a symbol Lsr is added to a light pathindicating specularly reflected light; and a symbol Ldr is added to alight path indicating diffusely reflected light, where it is necessaryto distinguish them.

As for the glossiness of an object, it is known to be expressed in termsof the intensity ratio of the specularly reflected component to thediffusely reflected component in light reflected from the object. Forexample, the ratio is relatively high for light reflected from a surfaceof a polished metal. This is because a polished metal surface has highlyglossy texture. In contrast, the ratio is relatively low for lightdiffusely reflected from an object having less glossiness, such as clothor fabric. Thus, glossiness of an object may be read by measuring theratio of the specularly reflected light to the diffusely reflected lightin light reflected from the object.

However, the intensity of light specularly reflected from an objecttends to exceed the dynamic range of image-input elements of generaloptical image-reading devices. Accordingly, optical guiding units aredesigned to minimize the reception of the specularly reflected lightfrom an object, and thereby maximize the reception of the diffuselyreflected light from the object. Since the reflected light received by ageneral optical image-reading device contains a large amount ofdiffusely reflected light in this design, the device is unable to readglossiness of an object appropriately.

To read the glossiness of an object, a configuration is required suchthat both diffusely reflected light and specularly reflected light fromthe object are received, and glossiness can be obtained based onreflection components in each. For example, by illuminating an objectwith a light source to read an image mainly containing diffuselyreflected light (a diffuse reflection image) and then illuminating theobject with a light source to read an image mainly containing specularlyreflected light (a specular reflection image), it is possible togenerate a glossiness signal which indicates glossiness based on theseimage signals.

As for the unevenness on an object, it appears as shadows on the object.Shadows are more readily appeared, when the incident angle of lightbecomes larger. For example, as shown in FIG. 19, light hitting a convexportion of an object at an incident angle of θ₁₁ causes a shadow in aregion S1. Further, light hitting the convex portion at an incidentangle of θ₁₂ (>θ₁₁) causes a shadow in a region S2. As shown in thefigure, the region S2 is larger than the region S1. Thereby theunevenness of an object appears more pronouncedly when the incidentangle becomes larger.

Accordingly, to read the unevenness of an object, a configuration isneeded in which reading is performed at two different incident angles: afirst incident angle and a second (larger) incident angle. When theobject is illuminated at the first incident angle, the light reflectedfrom the object expresses colors mainly based on diffuse reflectioncomponents of the object. When the object is illuminated at the secondincident angle, the light reflected from the object expresses unevennessmainly based on the convexity and concavity (unevenness) of the surfaceof the object. Accordingly, when an image is formed based on both ofthese reflected lights, both the color of the object and the unevennessof the surface can be reproduced.

As shown in the partial cross-section of the image-reading device shownin FIG. 20, a light source 611 for illuminating an object O at a firstincident angle θ₁₁ and a light source 612 for illuminating the object Oat a second incident angle θ₁₂ are required.

However, having a second light source in an image-reading device asdescribed above requires more space and leads to increased costs.Accordingly, it is desirable to provide only one light source, moving itbetween the position 611 and the position 612 shown in FIG. 20. In thiscase, too, however, the light source is required to move vertically(between the top and the bottom of the image-reading device).Image-reading devices are often required to be designed as small aspossible vertically. Accordingly, the need for vertical movement of thelight source as described above is a problem.

Moreover, if the unevenness of the surface of the object is very slight,it may be insufficient to read the unevenness by simply illuminating ata pre-determined incident angle. In such a case, shadows of sufficientsize does not appear unless the second incident angle is furtherincreased. It is therefore preferable to provide three or more lightsources and to use these light sources according to the unevenness ofthe surface of the object, in order to read the unevenness more clearly.However, there still exists the problem that finding space to installthree or more light sources is extremely difficult in an image-readingdevice which is required to be as small as possible vertically asdescribed above.

SUMMARY

According to an aspect of the present invention, a device is providedincluding a light source; a first guiding unit that guides the lightfrom the light source to an object at prescribed incident anglesincluding a first incident angle and a second incident angle; a signalgenerating unit that receives light and that generates an image signalbased on the received light; a second guiding unit that guides the lightreflected from the object to the signal generating unit; and a controlunit that controls the first guiding unit to guide the light from thelight source to the object at least two different incident anglesincluding the first incident angle and the second incident angle, andcontrols the signal generating unit to generate image signals for the atleast two different incident angles.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Exemplary embodiment(s) of the present invention will be described indetail based on the following figures, wherein:

FIG. 1 is a functional block diagram of an image-forming deviceaccording to a first exemplary embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a view showing a device configuration of the image-formingdevice;

FIG. 3 is a view showing a configuration of a full-rate carriage unit ofthe image-forming device;

FIG. 4 is a view showing an example of a configuration of a drive systemof the full-rate carriage unit;

FIG. 5 is a view showing an example of a configuration of the drivesystem of the full-rate carriage unit;

FIG. 6 is a view showing an input image achieved through a scanningoperation at an incident angle of 45° with respect to an object(fabric);

FIG. 7 is a view showing an input image achieved through a scanningoperation at an incident angle of 65° with respect to the above object;

FIG. 8 is a view showing a composite image in which the input imageachieved through the scanning operation at an incident angle of 45° andthe input image achieved through the scanning operation at an incidentangle of 65° have been composed;

FIG. 9 is a view showing a device configuration of an image-readingdevice according to a second exemplary embodiment of the presentinvention;

FIG. 10 is a view showing another configuration of the full-ratecarriage unit according to the same exemplary embodiment;

FIG. 11 is a view showing another configuration of the full-ratecarriage unit according to the same exemplary embodiment;

FIG. 12 is a view showing another configuration of the full-ratecarriage unit according to a modification of the same exemplaryembodiment;

FIG. 13 is a view showing another configuration of the full-ratecarriage unit according to a modification of the same exemplaryembodiment;

FIG. 14 is a view showing another configuration of the full-ratecarriage unit according to a third exemplary embodiment of the presentinvention;

FIG. 15 is a view showing another configuration of the full-ratecarriage unit according to the same exemplary embodiment;

FIG. 16 is a view showing another configuration of the full-ratecarriage unit according to a modification of the same exemplaryembodiment;

FIG. 17 is a view showing another configuration of the full-ratecarriage unit according to a modification of the same exemplaryembodiment;

FIG. 18 is a conceptual view showing how light is reflected from anobject;

FIG. 19 is a view showing the relationship between incident angles andshadows on an object; and

FIG. 20 is a view showing a configuration example of a full-ratecarriage unit with two light sources.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

A. First Exemplary Embodiment

A-1. Image-Forming Device

FIG. 1 is a functional block diagram of an image-forming device 1according to the first exemplary embodiment of the present invention.The image-forming device 1 has an image-reading unit 10, animage-forming unit 20, a control unit 30, a storage unit 40, animage-processing unit 50, an operating unit 60, and a data input/outputunit 70. The control unit 30 is a computing device provided with a CPU(Central Processing Unit), a RAM (Random Access Memory), a ROM (ReadOnly Memory), and so on, which are not shown, and controls operations ofvarious units of the image-forming device 1 by executing programs storedin the storage unit 40. The storage unit 40 is configured as alarge-capacity storage device such as a HDD (Hard Disk Drive), andstores the programs.

The image-reading unit 10 optically reads a surface of an object such aspaper or fabric, and generates and outputs image signals according tothe texture of the surface. The image-processing unit 50 has pluralimage-processing circuits such as ASICs (Application Specific IntegratedCircuits) or an LSIs (Large Scale Integrated Circuits), image memory fortemporarily storing image data, and so on, and each image-processingcircuit executes various image processes. Specifically, theimage-processing unit 50 performs prescribed image processings andgenerates image data based on the image signals generated by theimage-reading unit 10, and outputs the image data to the image-formingunit 20. The image-forming unit 20 forms a toner image on a recordingsheet such as recording paper, based on the image data. The operatingunit 60 is provided with a touch-panel display, various buttons, and soon, accepts input instructions from an operator, and supplies the inputinstructions to the control unit 30. The data input/output unit 70 is aninterface device for transmitting data back and forth with externaldevices.

FIG. 2 is a view showing a configuration of the image-forming device 1.

The image-reading unit 10 has a full-rate carriage unit 110, a half-ratecarriage unit 120, a focusing lens 130, an inline sensor 140, a platenglass 150, and a platen cover 160. The full-rate carriage unit 110optically reads a surface of an object O, while being moved by a drivingunit such as a motor (not shown) at a velocity v in the direction of thearrow C (the main scanning direction). The half-rate carriage unit 120has mirrors 121 and 122, and guides light from the full-rate carriageunit 110 to the focusing lens 130. The half-rate carriage unit 120 ismoved by a driving unit such as a motor (not shown) in the samedirection (the scanning direction) as the full-rate carriage unit 110 athalf the velocity of the full-rate carriage unit 110 (i.e., v/2).

The focusing lens 130 is disposed along a light path, which connects themirror 122 and the inline sensor 140, and images reflected light fromthe object O at a light-receiving position of the inline sensor 140. Thefocusing lens 130 is made up of, for example, between four and eightcombined lenses, in accordance with a required level of performance. Inthis exemplary embodiment, mirrors, lenses, and so on disposed along alight path of reflected light are collectively called the “guidingunit.”

The inline sensor 140 is a signal generating unit that receives imagedlight and generates and outputs image signals in accordance with thereceived light, and is, for example, multiple rows of CCD linear imagesensors (image-input elements) provided with an on-chip color filter. Inthis exemplary embodiment, image sensors are used which can input imagesin three colors: B (blue), G (green), and R (red). The inline sensor 140outputs image signals of these three colors.

The platen glass 150, on which the object O is placed, is a flat andtransparent glass panel. A reflection-suppressing layer, such as amultilayer dielectric film is formed on both sides of the platen glass150, thus reducing reflection on the surfaces of the platen glass 150.The platen cover 160 is disposed to cover the platen glass 150 forshutting off outside light and allowing easier reading the object Oplaced on the platen glass 150.

Thus configured, in the image-reading unit 10, the full-rate carriageunit 110 illuminates the object O placed on the platen glass 150, andreflected light from the object O is received by the inline sensor 140via the mirrors 121 and 122. The inline sensor 140 generates imagesignals in three colors, B (blue), G (green), and R (red) and outputsthem to the image-processing unit 50 in response to the reflected lightit received. The image-processing unit 50 generates and supplies to theimage-forming unit 20 image data which has undergone shading correction,color correction, and a variety of other correcting and computingprocesses based on the image signals.

A-2. Full-Rate Carriage Unit

FIG. 3 is a view showing details of the full-rate carriage unit 110. Asshown in FIG. 3, the full-rate carriage unit 110 has a tubular lightsource 111, two cylindrical convex lenses 112 and 113, a cover 114, amoving-mirror 115, and a fixed mirror 116. The tubular light source 111is a halogen lamp or a xenon fluorescent lamp, for example. The pair ofthe cylindrical convex lenses 112 and 113, which are disposed in amanner that their convex surfaces oppose each other, transform the lightfrom the tubular light source 111 to an approximately parallel light.The cover 114 covers up the tubular light source 111 and the cylindricalconvex lenses 112 and 113 so as to keep the light from leaking out.

The moving-mirror 115 has a reflective surface which reflects the lightfrom the tubular light source 111 in the direction of the object O. Thelight is further reflected from the object O. The fixed mirror 116reflects the reflected light from the object O in a direction toward thehalf-rate carriage unit 120. The moving-mirror 115 is configured suchthat the orientation and the horizontal position (in the main scanningdirection) of the moving-mirror 115 may be varied in the figure. Thereexists, however, a fixed relationship between the orientation and theposition of the moving-mirror 115. Specifically, even if the orientationof the moving-mirror 115 changes, if the full-rate carriage unit 110 isin a position determined ahead of time (for example, a scanning startposition), the moving-mirror 115 is configured to move to a position atwhich light reflected by a reflective surface of the moving-mirror 115illuminates a fixed position on the object O.

As shown in the example in FIG. 3, even in a case in which theorientation of the moving-mirror 115 is changed and the incident anglewith respect to the object O changes, a configuration is adopted inwhich the scanning direction position of the moving-mirror 115 ischanged in accordance with different incident angles so that light isalways irradiated on a fixed position O′ on the object. Specifically,the incident angle of the light with respect to the object O is θ₁ whenthe moving-mirror 115 is disposed at a position A, θ₂ when themoving-mirror 115 is disposed at a position B, and θ₃ when themoving-mirror 115 is disposed at a position C (θ₁<θ₂<θ₃). In otherwords, the greater the incident angle becomes as the orientation of themoving-mirror 115 changes, the further the position of the moving-mirror115 is changed towards a position further separated from the lightsource 111. The reason the irradiation position on the object O ismaintained fixed even if the incident angle is changed is that when theirradiation position on the object O moves in response to a change inthe incident angle, the position of the full-rate carriage unit 110itself has to be adjusted to be at the prescribed scanning startposition by being moved in the main scanning direction when scanningbegins.

Since the incident angle with respect to the object O is made variableby changing of the orientation of the moving-mirror 115, an image can beachieved which expresses both the color and the surface texture of theobject O by for example irradiation of light on the object O at a firstincident angle during a first scan, irradiation of light on the object Oat a second incident angle which is larger than the first incident angleduring a second scan, and generation of an image on a recording sheetbased on the image signals achieved by the inline sensor 140 by eachscan.

An adjusting unit for adjusting the orientation of the moving-mirror 115and the position of the moving-mirror 115 along the scan direction isdescribed next.

FIG. 4 shows an example of this adjusting unit. The full-rate carriageunit 110 shown in FIG. 4 has a first driving unit that rotates themoving-mirror 115 and a second driving unit that moves the moving-mirror115 in a direction perpendicular to the main scanning direction(hereinafter referred to as a sub-scanning direction).

A configuration of the first driving unit is described next. Themoving-mirror 115 is secured to a moving-mirror holder 117, and themoving-mirror holder 117 has a shaft 201 which extends in aperpendicular direction to the surface of the paper of FIG. 4 parallelwith the reflective surface. The shaft 201 is inserted into a holeprovided to a casing member (not shown) of the full-rate carriage unit110, and is rotatably supported. A belt 202 spans the shaft 201. When aroll 203, around which the belt 202 is tightly positioned, is rotatedaround a rotating shaft 204 by a motor (not shown) the moving-mirrorholder 117 is also rotated around the shaft 201 due to this rotatingoperation. In this way, the orientation of the moving-mirror 115 isvaried.

A configuration of the second driving unit is described next. Therotating shaft 204 is supported by a supporting member 205 affixed to astage 206. A hole (not shown) with grooves on its inner surface isprovided to the stage 206. Grooves which mesh with the grooves in thehole are formed on the outer circumference of a shaft 207. When theshaft 207 is rotated by the motor 208, the stage 206 moves horizontallyin the figure (in the sub-scanning direction) due to this rotatingoperation. The moving-mirror holder 117 on the stage thereby moves inthe sub-scanning direction.

The image-reading unit 10 operates in two modes: a first mode forobtaining the colors of the object O; and a second mode for obtainingthe texture of the object O. The moving-mirror control unit 209 switchesthe incident angle to the object O for each mode. For example, in thefirst mode, the object O is illuminated at an incident angle of 45° andin the second mode, the object O is illuminated at an incident angle of65°. Specifically, the moving-mirror control unit 209 associates andstores, for each mode, an incident angle, a position and an orientationof the moving-mirror 115 in the sub-scanning direction for realizationof that incident angle. When the control unit 30 determines an incidentangle by specifying the mode with either the first mode or the secondmode, the moving-mirror control unit 209 controls the motor 208 to drivethe roll 203 so that the moving-mirror 115 is positioned at the positionand in the orientation to achieve the incident angle.

Next, FIG. 5 is a view showing another example of the adjusting unit.

As shown in FIG. 5, the moving-mirror 115 is secured to themoving-mirror holder 117, a single shaft 301 is provided to themoving-mirror holder 117, and two protruding pins 302 and 303 areprovided to the lateral surfaces. Specifically, the pin 302 is providedadjacent to the top edge of the moving-mirror holder 117, the pin 303 isprovided adjacent to the bottom edge, and the shaft 301 is provided nearthe center. Guide grooves 401, 402, and 403, in which the shaft 301 andthe pins 302 and 303 are respectively inserted, are provided to thecasing member of the full-rate carriage unit 110. Since the orientationof the flat surface (reflective surface) is determined by two lines onthe flat surface, when the shaft 301 and the pins 302 and 303 areinserted into the guide grooves 401, 402, and 403, and the moving-mirrorholder 117 is secured at a certain position, the orientation of themoving-mirror 115 is uniquely determined.

The guide grooves 401, 402, and 403 extend in different directions, asshown in the figure, whereby the position of the moving-mirror holder117 the orientation of the moving-mirror holder 117 are continuouslyvaried. Furthermore, the directions of the guide grooves 401, 402, and403 are determined such that the moving-mirror 115 is disposed at aposition at which the object O is illuminated at a constant position,even if the orientation of the moving-mirror holder 117 is changed.

The shaft 301 is rotatably supported by a supporting member 304. A holewith grooves on its -inner surface is provided to the supporting member304. Grooves which mesh with the grooves in the hole are formed on theouter circumference of a shaft 305. When the shaft 305 is rotated by themotor 306, the supporting member 304 moves horizontally in the figure(in the sub-scanning direction) due to this rotating operation.

When the orientation of the moving-mirror 115 is determined as describedabove, the position of the moving-mirror 115 is also uniquelydetermined. Accordingly, the moving-mirror control unit 307 associatesand stores incident angles for each mode (i.e., the orientation of themoving-mirror 115), and positions of the moving-mirror 115 in thesub-scanning direction, in order to realize those incident angles, andwhen the reading mode is specified and the incident angle is determined,the moving-mirror control unit 307 drives the motor 306 so that themoving-mirror 115 is at a position at which the incident angle isachieved.

A-3. Generation of Image Data

As described above, the full-rate carriage unit 110 lights the object Oand obtains information from the object O. Hereafter, this operation isreferred as a “scanning operation.” More particularly, when the object Ois illuminated at an incident angle of 45°, the operation is referred asa “scanning operation at an incident angle of 45°,” whereas when theobject O is illuminated at an incident angle of 65°, the operation isreferred as a “scanning operation at an incident angle of 65°.”

The image-reading unit 10 executes two types of scanning operations: inthe first reading mode, each of the scanning operation at an incidentangle of 45° and the scanning operation at an incident angle of 65° inthe second reading mode, composes the image signals achieved by thescanning operation, and generates image data. The image data achieved inthis manner expresses the color and texture of the object O. Thefollowing description uses “fabric” as an example of the object O.

First, FIG. 6 shows an input image P45 achieved by the scanningoperation at an incident angle of 45° in the first reading modeperformed on the object O (fabric). The input image P45 is expressed bycolors, and clearly expresses the colors (patterns) of the object O. Inother words, an incident angle of 45° can be called appropriate forreading the colors and patterns of the object O.

Next, FIG. 7 shows an input image P65 achieved by the scanning operationat an incident angle of 65° in the second reading mode performed on theabove object O (fabric). The input image P65 is a monochrome image madeup of no colors. As can be seen from comparing the input image P65 withthe input image P45 shown in FIG. 6, black regions are present on theobject O in the input image P65. These black regions are shadows createdby light irradiated on the object O because of the presence ofconvexities and concavities on the object O. In other words, asdescribed using FIG. 19, since the incident angle θ₁₂=approximately 65°is larger than the incident angle θ₁₁=45° of the light source 111, moreshadows are generated by the convexities and concavities on the surfaceof the object O. It can therefore be said that performing the scanningoperation with a larger incident angle is more appropriate for readingthe convexities and concavities (i.e., texture) of the object O.However, if the incident angle is raised above 80°, the areas of shadowdue to slightly larger convexities and concavities on the object Obecome extremely large, resulting in a loss of detailed textureinformation. Furthermore, excessively increasing the incident anglecauses a problem that the amount of irradiated light from the lightsource irradiated per unit area of the surface of the object O dropssignificantly. Accordingly, when reading texture, an incident angle ofbetween 60° and 70° is appropriate.

FIG. 8 is a view showing a composite image P in which the input imageP45 of FIG. 6 and the input image P65 of FIG. 7 are composed. Asdescribed above, the input image P45 clearly expresses the colors of theobject O and the input image P65 expresses the texture of the object O,so the composite image P can be said to express both the colors and thetexture of the object O.

A specific method for generating image data is as follows.

First, the image-reading unit 10 executes the scanning operation at anincident angle of 45° in the first reading mode. Specifically, themoving-mirror control unit 209 on the full-rate carriage unit 110adjusts the moving-mirror 115 to a position and orientation such thatthe incident angle with respect to the object O is 45°. When thisadjustment is finished, the full-rate carriage unit 110 is moved in thedirection shown by the arrow C in FIG. 2, while light is being radiatedfrom the tubular light source 111. The entire surface of the object O isthus optically scanned and the reflected light is read by the inlinesensor 140. The image-processing unit 50 obtains an image signal (afirst image signal) based on the diffusely reflected light from theinline sensor 140. The signal value of the first image signal is storedin an image memory in the image-processing unit 50.

Next, the image-reading unit 10 executes the scanning operation at anincident angle of 65°. Specifically, the moving-mirror control unit 209on the full-rate carriage unit 110 adjusts the moving-mirror 115 to aposition and orientation such that the incident angle is 65°. When thisadjustment is finished, the full-rate carriage unit 110 is moved in thedirection shown by the arrow C in FIG. 2 while light is being radiatedfrom the tubular light source 111. The entire surface of the object O isthus optically scanned and the reflected light is read by the inlinesensor 140. By this process, the image-processing unit 50 obtains fromthe inline sensor 140 an image signal (a second image signal) based onthe diffusely reflected light. The signal value of the second imagesignal is stored in an image memory in the image-processing unit 50.

Next, the image-processing unit 50 reads the signal value of the secondimage signal from the image memory, converts this into a signal valueexpressing a monochrome image (with no color), and multiplies the signalvalue by a coefficient C (0<C≦1). The coefficient C is stored in theimage-processing unit 50. The larger the coefficient C is, the moreemphasized the shadows are on the surface of the object. In other words,because the coefficient C works as a weight with regard to textureexpressed by the second image signal, the image-processing unit 50 canadjust the balance of the texture relative to the color of the object Oby adjusting the coefficient C.

Next, the image-processing unit 50 reads the signal value of the firstimage signal from the image memory and adds the product of the signalvalue of the second image signal and the coefficient to the signal valueof the first image signal, thereby composing the two images. Theimage-processing unit 50 implements the prescribed image processes onthe signal values thus obtained, and obtains composite image dataexpressing composite image P which is to be finally output. Color imagedata is thereby generated which expresses an image in which a colorimage based on the first image signal is superimposed on a monochromeimage based on the second image signal.

Note that either of the scanning operation at an incident angle of 45°or the scanning operation at an incident angle of 65°, which aredescribed above, can be executed first.

Once the image-processing unit 50 generates image data by the proceduredescribed above, the image-forming unit 20 forms an image on therecording sheet based on the image data. Now, a configuration of theimage-forming unit 20 is described, with reference once again to FIG. 2.As shown in FIG. 2, the image-forming unit 20 has image-forming units210 a, 210 b, 210 c, and 210 d, which correspond to colors Y (yellow), M(magenta), C (cyan), and K (black), respectively, an intermediate imagetransferring belt 220, primary image transferring rolls 230 a, 230 b,230 c, and 230 d, a secondary image transferring roll 240, a back-uproll 250, a paper feed unit 260, and a fusing unit 270. The intermediateimage transferring belt 220 is an endless belt member, and is moved inthe direction of the arrow B in the figure by a driving unit (notshown). The primary image transferring rolls 230 a, 230 b, 230 c, and230 d are biased toward the side of photosensitive drums on theimage-forming units 210 a, 210 b, 210 c, and 210 d via the intermediateimage transferring belt 220. Toner images of the colors Y, M, C, and Kbased on the image data are formed on these photosensitive drums, andthe toner images are transferred to the intermediate image transferringbelt 220. The secondary image transferring roll 240 and the back-up roll250 are mutually biased at a position at which the intermediate imagetransferring belt 220 is opposed to recording paper, and transfer thetoner image from the intermediate image transferring belt 220 to therecording paper. The paper feed unit 260 has paper trays 261 a and 261 bwhich hold the recording paper and feed the recording paper during imageformation. The fusing unit 270 has a roll member for heating andapplying pressure to the recording paper, fusing the toner imagetransferred to the surface of the recording paper with heat andpressure. The image-forming unit 20 thereby forms an image on therecording paper based on the image data supplied by the image-processingunit 50.

According to this exemplary embodiment, by varying the position andorientation of the moving-mirror 115 which reflects light from thetubular light source 111, the incident angle with respect to the objectO can be adjusted to any value, even with a single light source. In thiscase, the moving direction of the moving-mirror 115 is the scanningdirection (horizontal direction), so there is no need to ensure a largevertical space in the image-forming device (especially in animage-reading device).

The image-forming device 1 generates image data by composing the firstimage signal achieved by light reflected due to light irradiated on theobject O at an incident angle of 45° and the second image signalachieved by light reflected due to light irradiated on the object O atan incident angle of 65°, which is larger than the incident angle of45°. The first image signal achieved by light at an incident angle of45° is an image signal mainly for detecting the colors of the object O,and the second image signal achieved by light at an incident angle of65° is an image signal mainly for detected the texture of the object O.Accordingly, image data achieved by composing the first image signal andthe second image signal is image data which expresses the color and thetexture of the object O. Forming an image based on this image data makesit possible to faithfully reproduce the colors and texture of the objectO.

B. Second Exemplary Embodiment

FIG. 9 is a view showing a device configuration of an image-readingdevice 500 according to a second exemplary embodiment of the presentinvention. As shown in the figure, the image-reading device 500 has aplaten glass 150, a platen cover 160, a full-rate carriage unit 510, ahalf-rate carriage unit 120, a focusing lens 130, an inline sensor 140,and an operating unit 60.

The platen glass 150 is a transparent glass panel, on which an object Ois placed. A reflection-suppressing layer, such as, for example, amultilayer dielectric film, is formed on both sides of the platen glass150, thus reducing reflection on the surfaces of the platen glass 150.The platen cover 160 is disposed such that it covers the platen glass150, blocking outside light and making easier reading the object O whichis placed on the platen glass 150. Note that in the present invention,the object O is not limited to paper, but may be plastic, metal, cloth,or fabric.

FIG. 10 and FIG. 11 are views showing details of the full-rate carriageunit 510.

The image-reading modes of the image-reading device 500 are a colorreading mode mainly for reading the colors of the object (a firstimage-reading mode) and a texture reading mode mainly for reading thetexture or glossiness of the object (a second image-reading mode). FIG.10 shows a configuration of the full-rate carriage unit 510 in the colorreading mode and FIG. 11 shows a configuration of the full-rate carriageunit 510 in the texture reading mode. Note that in the full-ratecarriage unit 510 of this exemplary embodiment, the incident angle oflight from a tubular light source 531 with respect to the object isapproximately 45°, and light reflected at a reflection angle ofapproximately 45° with respect to this light is specularly reflectedlight. More specifically, the reflected light contains diffuselyreflected light in addition to the specularly reflected light, butcomponents in the reflected light which are equivalent to the diffuselyreflected light should be diminished by implementation of prescribedoperations on the image signal generated based on the light. On theother hand, as with ordinary image-reading devices which only read thecolors of the object O, light reflected at a reflection angle ofapproximately 0° with respect to the light hitting the object O isdiffusely reflected light.

The full-rate carriage unit 510 has a tubular light source 531, acollimator lens 530, a movable reflector 532, and mirrors 533 and 534.The tubular light source 531 is a halogen lamp or a xenon fluorescentlamp, for example, and is provided at a position at which light isirradiated in the direction of the object O, as shown in the figure. Thecollimator lens 530 is a guiding unit (a first guiding unit), whichtransforms the light emitting from the tubular light source 531 (diffuselight) to a parallel light and guides the parallel light to the objectO. The collimator lens 530 is secured to a supporting member 542, whichrotates around a shaft 541. When the supporting member 542 is rotatedaround the shaft 541 by a motor 540 (a first driving unit), thecollimator lens 530 can be positioned as shown in FIG. 10 and as shownin FIG. 11. (Note that the motor 540 is omitted from FIGS. 11 to 16,which are discussed below.)

When the collimator lens 530 is in the position shown in FIG. 10 in thecolor reading mode, the object O is illuminated with the diffuse lightfrom the tubular light source 531. Diffuse light is convenient forreading the colors of the object O. When the collimator lens 530 is inthe position shown in FIG. 11 in the texture-reading mode, the lightfrom the tubular light source 531 is emitted in the direction of theobject O after being converted to parallel light by the collimator 530.When parallel light lights the object O, the incident angle of the lightbeam with respect to the object becomes uniform, which makes it possiblemore quantitatively to generate specularly reflected light components bythe fine shape of the surface of the object. The texture of the objectcan, as a result, be read more accurately. The light (diffuse light)from the tubular light source 531 is condensed into parallel light,achieving the effect of being able to ensure a sufficient amount oflight.

The movable reflector 532 works as a guiding unit (a second guidingunit), and is formed in a shape of an angled bracket (<), or in a shapeof a line which has been bent in the middle. The movable reflector 532is rotated around a shaft 535 by a motor 536 (a second driving unit),and can take the orientation shown in FIG. 10 and the orientation shownin FIG. 11. (Note that the motor 536 is omitted from FIG. 11 and FIG. 12to FIG. 16, which are discussed below.) The movable reflector 532 has areflective surface 532 m for reflecting light and an absorbing surface532 t for absorbing light. The absorbing surface 532 t is a so-calledlight trap, such as, for example, a black porous polyurethane sheet, andthe majority of light entering it is trapped by the surface and isabsorbed.

The mirrors 533 and 534 work as guiding units which further reflect thereflected light from the object O and direct this light to the half-ratecarriage unit 120. More specifically, in the color reading mode, themirror 533 (a first guiding unit) guides the diffusely reflected lightfrom the object O to the direction of the half-rate carriage unit 120.In the texture reading mode, on the contrary, the mirror 534 (a secondguiding unit) guides the specularly reflected light from the object O tothe direction of the half-rate carriage unit 120.

In the color reading mode, when the movable reflector 532 is positionedas shown in FIG. 10, it reflects the light from the tubular light source531 in the direction of the object O with the reflective surface 532 m,as shown by the dotted line r1. At the same time, the object O isirradiated by direct light from the tubular light source 531 as shown bythe dotted line r0, with the result of being simultaneously irradiatedfrom two directions (dotted lines r0 and r1). As shown by the dottedline r2, the diffusely reflected light from the object O is furtherreflected by the reflective surface 532 m of the movable reflector 532after being reflected by the mirror 533, and is thereby directed in thedirection of the half-rate carriage unit 120. In other words, theorientation of the movable reflector 532 in the color reading mode is anorientation in which light from the tubular light source 531 isreflected in a direction toward the object O by the reflective surface532 m, and also in which the diffusely reflected light from the object Ois directed toward the half-rate carriage unit 120 by being reflectingby the mirror 533.

In the texture reading mode when the movable reflector 532 is positionedas shown in FIG. 11, the reflective surface 532 m moves to a position atwhich light from the tubular light source 531 is not received, so theobject O is only irradiated from the direction of the tubular lightsource 531 (i.e., from a constant direction). Accordingly, this light isspecularly reflected light by the fine shape of the surface of theobject O, and therefore light expressing the texture of the object. Thisspecularly reflected light is reflected by the mirror 534, and directedin the direction of the half-rate carriage unit 120, as shown by thedotted line r5. Further, the absorbing surface 532 t of the movablereflector 532 moves to a position at which it faces the object O, so thediffusely reflected light from the object O is absorbed by the absorbingsurface 532 t, as shown by the dotted line r4. Thus, the orientation ofthe movable reflector 532 in the texture reading mode is a orientationin which light from the tubular light source 531 is diffusely reflectedby the object O and directed in the direction of the absorbing surface532 t, and also in which the specularly reflected light from the objectO is directed toward the half-rate carriage unit 120 by the mirror 534.

When switching between the color reading mode and the texture readingmode, the movable reflector 532 and the collimator lens 530 need to bemoved in such a way that they do not collide. For example, whentransitioning from the color reading mode in FIG. 10 to the texturereading mode in FIG. 11, first the movable reflector 532 should beturned to the position shown in FIG. 11 and then the collimator lens 530should be moved to the position shown in FIG. 11.

Note that in connection with the orientation of the movable reflector532 and the positions of the members 532 through 534, the length of theoptical path of the light which is diffusely reflected by the surface ofthe object O until being received by the inline sensor 140 via themirror 533 and the movable reflector 532, is equal to the length of theoptical path of the light which is specularly reflected by the surfaceof the object O until being received by the inline sensor 140 via themirror 534. Accordingly, even if the orientation of the movablereflector 532 changes in accordance with the image-reading mode, thefocus position in the guiding units does not change. This configurationmakes it possible to receive diffusely reflected light and specularlyreflected light at the same inline sensor 140 (a signal generating unit)without adjusting the focal position each time.

Components of the full-rate carriage unit 510 shown in FIG. 10 haveapproximately the same dimension in a perpendicular direction to thesurface of the paper as those of the platen glass 150. The full-ratecarriage unit 510 is moved in the direction of the arrow C in FIG. 9 ata velocity v by a driving unit, which is not shown. As the driving unitmoves the full-rate carriage unit 510 in the direction of the arrow C,the full-rate carriage unit 510 can scan the entire surface of theobject O.

The description of the units of the image-reading device 500 nowcontinues, with reference once again to FIG. 9.

The half-rate carriage unit 120 has mirrors 141 and 142, and guideslight from the full-rate carriage unit 510 to the focusing lens 130. Thehalf-rate carriage unit 120 is driven by a driving unit(not shown) andmoves in the same direction as the full-rate carriage unit 510 at halfthe velocity of the full-rate carriage unit 510 (i.e., v/2). Thefocusing lens 130 is disposed along a light path which connects themirror 542 and the inline sensor 140, and images light from the object Oat the position of the inline sensor 140. The inline sensor 140 is areceptor element such as a three-line color CCD (Charge Coupled Device)which divides and receives, for example, three colors of light, R (red),G (green), and B (blue), and performs photoelectric conversion of eachcolor of light, generating and outputting image signals in accordancewith the amount of light received. The operating unit 60 has a liquidcrystal display or other display device, and a variety of buttons,displaying information for a user and accepting input instructions fromthe user.

Operation of the units described above is controlled by a control unit,which is not shown. The control unit XX has a computational device suchas a CPU (Central Processing Unit) and various types of memory such asROM (Read Only Memory) and RAM (Random Access Memory), and suppliesinstructions to the driving unit described above according to inputinstructions from the user, causing prescribed operations to beperformed for reading images. The control unit generates image data byapplying various image processes such as AD conversion, gammaconversion, and shading correction to image signals output by the inlinesensor 140. The image signals output by the inline sensor 140 includeimage signals based on diffusely reflected light and image signals basedon specularly reflected light (which, more accurately, includesdiffusely reflected light). The control unit generates image datacontaining information on color, by applying prescribed computations tothe former image signals. The control unit further generates image datacontaining information on texture by applying prescribed computations tothe latter image signals. The control unit can thereby generate imagedata containing information on color and texture by superimposing theimage data achieved from the former and latter image signals. Thecontrol unit executes a computational process which diminishescomponents equivalent to diffusely reflected light in the image signalsfrom specularly reflected light (which, more accurately, containsdiffusely reflected light), when generating this image data.

In the second exemplary embodiment, in the color reading mode, theobject O is illuminated from two directions, and image data is generatedwhich expresses the appearance (mainly the color) of the object O basedon the diffusely reflected light from the object O. In the texturereading mode, the object O is constantly illuminated from one directionand image data is generated which expresses the appearance (mainly thetexture) of the object O based on specularly reflected light from theobject O. Accordingly, in the color reading mode, the color of theobject can be read, and in the texture reading mode, the texture of theobject can be read. If the color reading mode and the texture readingmode are used together, the color and the texture of the object can beread simultaneously.

By varying the orientation of the movable reflector 532 (a guiding unit)by the motor 536 (the driving unit), the movable reflector 532 can beused in both image-reading modes. Accordingly, when compared with a casein which, for example, specialized units are mounted for each of the twoimage-reading modes, the number of units can be reduced, since anyconfiguration is simpler. Furthermore, since the light from the tubularlight source 531 in the texture reading mode is converted to parallellight by the collimator lens 530 and emitted in the direction of theobject O, the incident angle of the light beams with respect to theobject become uniform, making it possible more quantitatively togenerate specularly reflected light components by the fine shape of thesurface of the object. The texture of the object can accordingly be readmore accurately. The light (diffuse light) from the tubular light source531 is condensed into parallel light, making it possible to ensure asufficient amount of light.

C. Third Exemplary Embodiment

A third exemplary embodiment of the present invention is described next.The image-reading device according to the third exemplary embodimentdiffers from the image-reading device 500 of the first exemplaryembodiment described above only in the configuration of the full-ratecarriage unit. For this reason, only a configuration of the full-ratecarriage unit is described below, while components which are the same asthose of the second exemplary embodiment are assigned the same symbols,and description thereof is omitted.

FIG. 14 and FIG.15 are views showing configuartions of a full-ratecarriage unit 510 b in the exemplary embodiment. The full-rate carriageunit 510 b has a movable reflector 537 in place of the movable reflector532 of the second exemplary embodiment, and has a beam splitter 539. Themovable reflector 537 is a flat optical member, is rotatable around ashaft 538 driven by the motor 536 (not shown), and can take theorientation shown in FIG. 14 and the orientation shown in FIG. 15. Likethe movable reflecotr 532, the movable reflecotr 537 has a reflectivesurface 537 m for reflecting light and an absorbing surface 537 t forabsorbing light.

The beam splitter 539 partially reflects and partially lets passincident light. Due to its design, the higher the reflectance of lightfrom one surface of the beam splitter 539 is set, the lower thetransmittance of light becomes. In other words, the reflectance ofincident light from the front side (one surface) is equal to or above athreshold value, and the transmittance is equal to or below a thresholdvalue. (Note that the threshold values need not be the same.) Utilizingthis property, in the color reading mode, diffusely reflected lightcoming from the object O via the mirror 533 is reflected at areflectance equal to or higher than the threshold on the front side ofthe beam splitter 539 and is directed in the direction of the half-ratecarriage unit 120. In contrast, in the texture reading mode, specularlyreflected light coming from the object O via the mirror 534 istransmitted from the rear side to the front side of the beam splitter539 at a transmittance equal to or lower than the threshold, anddirected in the direction of the half-rate carriage unit 120. Ingeneral, specularly reflected light from the object O can be moreintense than the dynamic range of diffusely reflected light by an orderof several digits. Accordingly, when designing the beam splitter 539,the reflectance of the front side and the transmittance of the rear sideshould be set at appropriate values. The position of the beam splitter539 is a position at which a light path (a first light path) along whichlight travels which has been diffusely reflected by the object O asshown by the dotted line in FIG. 14 overlaps a light path (a secondlight path) along which light travels which has been specularlyreflected by the object O as shown by the dotted line in FIG. 15.

In the color reading mode when the collimator lens 530 is in theposition shown in FIG. 14, the object O is illuminated with the diffuselight from the tubular light source 531. In the texture reading modewhen the collimator lens 530 is in the position shown in FIG. 15, thelight from the tubular light source 531 is transformed by the collimator530 to a parallel light and is guided in the direction of the object O.

When the movable reflector 537 is in the position shown in FIG. 14 inthe color reading mode, it reflects the light from the tubular lightsource 531 in the direction of the object O with the reflective surface537 m. At this time, the object O is also irradiated by light (diffuselight) from the tubular light source 531, with the result that theobject O is irradiated from two directions at once. The diffuselyreflected light from the object O is reflected by the mirror 533,reflected by the beam splitter 539, and then travels in the direction ofthe half-rate carriage unit 120. In other words, the orientation of themovable reflector 537 in the color reading mode is an orientation inwhich light from the tubular light source 531 is reflected in adirection toward the object O by the reflective surface 537 m, and alsoin which the diffusely reflected light from the object O is directedtoward the half-rate carriage unit 120 by being reflected by the mirror533 and the beam splitter 539.

When the movable reflector 537 is in the position shown in FIG. 15 inthe texture reading mode, the reflective surface 537 m moves to aposition at which light from the tubular light source 531 is notreceived, so the object O is irradiated only from the direction of thetubular light source 531 (i.e., from a constant direction) by parallellight. Accordingly, more specularly reflected components of light aregenerated by the fine texture of the surface of the object O, causingthem to therefore express the texture of the object. The specularlyreflected light is reflected by the mirror 534, passes through the beamsplitter 539, and then travels in the direction of the half-ratecarriage unit 120. Further, the absorbing surface 537 t of the movablereflector 537 moves to a position at which it faces the object O, so thediffusely reflected light from the object O is absorbed by the absorbingsurface 537 t. Thus, the orientation of the movable reflector 537 in thetexture reading mode is an orientation in which light from the tubularlight source 531 is diffusely reflected by the object O and directed inthe direction of the absorbing surface 537 t, and also in which thespecularly reflected light from the object O is directed toward thehalf-rate carriage unit 120 by the mirror 534.

Note that, as in the second exemplary embodiment, as regards theorientation of the movable reflector 537 and the positions of thevarious members, the length of the optical path of the light which isdiffusely reflected by the object O until being received by the inlinesensor 140 via the mirror 533 and the movable reflector 537, is equal tothe length of the optical path of the light which is specularlyreflected by the object O until being received by the inline sensor 140via the mirror 534. Accordingly, even if the orientation of the movablereflector 537 changes in accordance with the image-reading mode, thefocus position in the guiding unit does not change. The configurationmakes it possible to receive diffusely reflected light and specularlyreflected light at the same inline sensor 140 (a signal generating unit)without the necessity of adjusting the focal position at each time.

In the third exemplary embodiment, as in the second exemplaryembodiment, in the color-reading mode, the color of the object can beread, and in the texture-reading mode, the texture of the object can beread. If the color reading mode and the texture reading mode are used inconjunction, the color and the texture of the object can be readsimultaneously. By varying the orientation of the movable reflector 537(a guiding unit) by the motor 536 (the driving unit), the movablereflector 537 can be used in both image-reading modes. Accordingly, whencompared with a case in which, for example, specialized units aremounted for each of the two image-reading modes, the number of units canbe reduced, since any configuration is simpler. Furthermore, since thelight from the tubular light source 531 in the texture reading mode is-converted to parallel light by the collimator lens 530 and emitted inthe direction of the object O, the incident angle of the light beamswith respect to the object become uniform, making it possible morequantitatively to generate specularly reflected light components by thefine texture of the surface of the object. The texture of the object canaccordingly be read more accurately. The light (diffuse light) from thetubular light source 531 is condensed into parallel light, making itpossible to ensure a sufficient amount of light.

D. Modifications

The following modifications to the above first through third exemplaryembodiments are possible.

(1) With the configuration of the full-rate carriage unit shown in FIG.5 in the description of the first exemplary embodiment, the orientation(orientation) of the moving-mirror 115 is uniquely determined when theshaft 301 and the pins 302 and 303 are inserted in the guide grooves401, 402, and 403, and the moving-mirror holder 117 is secured at acertain position. However, to determine the orientation of the surface(the reflective surface), it is sufficient if two lines on the surfaceare determined. Accordingly, it is sufficient if at least two pins areprovided to a lateral surface of the moving-mirror 115 and at least twoguide grooves in which those pins are inserted are provided to thecasing member. Further, when varying the position of the moving-mirror115, if the shaft 301 is moved along the scanning direction, theposition of the moving-mirror 115 changes.

(2) In the first exemplary embodiment, the image-processing unit 50generates color image data in a state in which a color image based onthe first image signal and a monochrome image based on the second imagesignal are superimposed, but the following is also possible.

First, an image based on the second image signal may be a color image,and not a monochrome image. Since a monochrome image is represented withno colors, areas in shadow can be emphasized more, but even in colorimages, areas of shadow are darker and are thus recognizable as shadowareas, and therefore express texture.

Further, the image-processing unit 50 may be such that it on the onehand generates color image data based on the first image signal, and onthe other hand generates monochrome image data based on the second imagesignal, associates the generated color image data and the monochromeimage data and outputs each to the image-forming unit 20. In this case,the image-forming unit 20 should overlap and form on the recording sheeta color image using C, M, and Y-color toners based on the color imagedata, and a monochrome image using K-color toner based on the monochromeimage data.

(3) In the first exemplary embodiment, the image-processing unit 50reads a signal value of the second image signal from the image memory,converts this into a signal value which expresses a monochrome image(without color), and further multiplies the signal value by thecoefficient C (0<C≦1), but it is also possible simply to add the signalvalue of the first image signal and the signal value of the second imagesignal, without using the coefficient C.

Instead of presetting the coefficient C, for example, to C=0.5, theoperator may determine an appropriate coefficient C each time. Forexample, before forming an image on the recording sheet, theimage-processing unit 50 sets the coefficient C to the value between 0.1and 1, for example, in increments of 0.1, and displays a list ofmultiple images, based on image data generated using all thesecoefficients C, to the display of the operating unit 60 or to personalcomputers connected to the image-forming device 1 in a network. The morethe coefficient C approaches 1, the more emphasized the shadows become,but at the same time color is lost, so the operator selects from amongthese multiple images an image considered to reproduce in the mostbalanced manner the texture and color of the object O as seen by theoperator's eye. The image-processing unit 50 supplies this image datawhich expresses the image thus designated by the operator to theimage-forming unit 20, and the image-forming unit 20 forms an image onthe recording paper based on the image data.

(4) The first exemplary embodiment specifically discloses the case ofthe first incident angle of 45° and the case of the second incidentangle of 65°, but the values of the first incident angle and the secondincident angle are not limited thus. For example, the first incidentangle need only be an angle at which an object with a uniform surfacecan be read favorably, approximately 45° being desirable, but within 1°to 2° from 45° also being possible. To further emphasize the texture ofthe object O, the second incident angle may be approximated to 70°, andto emphasize the color of the object O, the second incident angle may beapproximated to 60°.(5) In the first exemplary embodiment, the inline sensor 140, which isthe signal generating unit, was described as multiple rows of CCD imagesensors provided with an on-chip color filter, but the present inventionis not limited to this configuration. For example, the signal generatingunit may be a single row of image sensors in a configuration providedwith a sliding or rotating color filter. With such a configuration, theinline sensor can be configured more cheaply, but increasing the numberof colors which are read presents a problem of a concomitant increase inthe number of times the reading operation is performed. The number ofcolors read by the inline sensor is not limited to three colors, and maybe four or more colors. A higher number of colors makes it possible toestimate spectral reflectance more accurately, but when the amount ofdata in the generated image signals and the image-processing time aretaken into consideration, around three to six colors is appropriate.(6) In the first exemplary embodiment, a tandem-type image-forming unitwas described which has four image-forming units, but a rotary-typeimage-forming unit is also possible. Further, a paper transporting beltmay be provided in lieu of the intermediate image transferring belt, andimages may be transferred directly to the recording paper from thephotosensitive drum, and not from an intermediate image transferringbody (the intermediate image transferring belt).(7) Note also that, in the first exemplary embodiment, a case in whichthe present invention is used as an image-forming device was described,but such an aspect is not a limitation. For example, just as animage-reading device can be provided with a configuration equivalent tothe image-reading unit of this exemplary embodiment, a certain effectcan be achieved without providing the image-processing unit or theimage-forming unit. In other words, the present invention can bespecified as this kind of image-reading device.(8) The following modifications are possible to the second exemplaryembodiment.

FIG. 12 and FIG. 13 are views showing configurations of a full-ratecarriage unit 510 a according to a modification. FIG. 12 shows aconfiguration of the full-rate carriage unit 510 a in the color readingmode and FIG. 13 shows a configuration of the full-rate carriage unit510 a in the texture reading mode. In FIG. 12 and FIG. 13, componentswhich are the same as those of the first exemplary embodiment have thesame symbols. The full-rate carriage unit 510 a according to thismodification has two mirrors 534 a and 534 b in lieu of the mirror 534.By provision of these two mirrors 534 a and 534 b, the number ofreflections of the light which is diffusely reflected by the object Ountil being received by the inline sensor 140 via the mirror 533 and themovable reflector 532 and the number of reflections of light which isspecularly reflected by the object O until being received by the inlinesensor 140 via the mirrors 534 a and 534 b are both even numbers(twice). By matching the number of reflections of light in the colorreading mode and the texture reading mode in this way to either an evennumber or to an odd number, the direction of the image in the reflectedlight in the sub-scanning direction in each case can be matched. In thefirst exemplary embodiment, the number of reflections in the colorreading mode is two, while the number of reflections in the texturereading mode is one, which means the image directions of each do notmatch. In such a case, since the direction of the sub-scanning directionimages imaged on the inline sensor do not match, so the order isinverted in the sub-scanning direction of the image which is imaged onthe inline sensor which has three pixel rows of R, G, and B.Accordingly, the conditions for the process for matching the lines inthe later-stage delay memory have to be changed, which may result inproblems such as switching the processing circuit, or increased memorydelay. This modification is convenient because such processes are notneeded.

(9) The following modification is possible of the third exemplaryembodiment, based on the same concept as the modification of the secondexemplary embodiment. FIGS. 16 and 17 are views showing configurationsof a full-rate carriage unit 510 c according to a modification of thethird exemplary embodiment. FIG. 16 shows a configuration of thefull-rate carriage unit 510 c in the color reading mode and FIG. 17shows a configuration of the full-rate carriage unit 510 c in thetexture reading mode. The full-rate carriage unit 510 c has two mirrors534 c and 534 d in lieu of the mirror 534. By provision of these twomirrors 534 c and 534 d, the number of reflections of the light which isdiffusely reflected by the object O until being received by the inlinesensor 140 via the mirror 533 and the beam splitter 539 and the numberof reflections of light which is specularly reflected by the object Ountil being received by the inline sensor 140 via the mirrors 534 c and534 d are both even numbers (twice). By matching the number ofreflections of light in the color reading mode and the texture readingmode in this way to either an even number or to an odd number, thedirection of the image in the reflected light in each case can bematched.(10) Note that in the second exemplary embodiment and the thirdexemplary embodiment, the orientation of the movable reflector is variedaccording to the image-reading mode by rotating it around a shaft. Ifonly the orientation of the movable reflector is changed, then controlis simpler and preferable. However, it is possible to vary the positionof the movable reflector and not just the orientation of the movablereflector in accordance with circumstances of the interior space in theimage-reading device, and it is possible also to vary the orientationand position at the same time. Furthermore, the collimator lens is notlimited in the shape of that shown, but any known collimator lens may beapplied.

The foregoing description of the exemplary embodiments of the presentinvention has been provided for the purposes of illustration anddescription. It is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit theinvention to the precise forms disclosed. Obviously, many modificationsand variations will be apparent to practitioners skilled in the art. Theexemplary embodiments were chosen and described in order to best explainthe principles of the invention and its practical applications, therebyenabling others skilled in the art to understand the invention forvarious embodiments and with the various modifications as are suited tothe particular use contemplated. It is intended that the scope of theinvention be defined by the following claims and their equivalents.

1. A device, comprising: a light source; a first guiding unit thatguides the light from the light source to an object at prescribedincident angles including a first incident angle and a second incidentangle, the first guiding unit including a reflection unit and a movingunit, the reflection unit including a reflective mirror and a unit thatvaries the orientation of the reflective mirror, and the moving unitperforming a function of moving the reflective mirror of the reflectionunit in a first direction; a signal generating unit that receives lightand that generates an image signal based on the received light; a secondguiding unit that guides the light reflected from the object to thesignal generating unit; and a control unit that controls the firstguiding unit to guide the light from the light source to the object atleast two different incident angles including the first incident angleand the second incident angle, and controls the signal generating unitto generate image signals for the at least two different incidentangles, the control unit causing the first guiding unit to control thereflection unit to vary the orientation of the reflective mirror so thatthe light from the light source illuminates a fixed position on theobject while the reflective mirror is moved in the first direction,wherein the device operates in a first mode for obtaining the colors ofan object and a second mode for obtaining the texture of an object. 2.The device according to claim 1, wherein the reflection unit isrotatable around an axis, the axis being parallel to the reflectivemirror and perpendicular to the first direction, and wherein the firstguiding unit further includes: a first driving unit that varies theorientation of the reflective mirror by rotating the reflection unitaround the axis; and a second driving unit that moves the reflectivemirror in the first direction, and wherein the control unit controls thefirst driving unit to vary the orientation of the reflective mirror, andcontrols the moving unit and the second driving unit to move thereflective mirror in the first direction.
 3. The device according toclaim 1, wherein the reflection unit includes: at least two shafts orpins, which are provided on a lateral surface of the reflective mirror,and at least two guide grooves which extend indifferent directions, andin which the shafts or pins are inserted, and wherein the control unitcontrols the first driving unit to vary the orientation and the positionof the reflective mirror, by moving the shafts or the pins inserted inthe guide grooves in the first direction.
 4. The device according toclaim 1, wherein the first incident angle is about 45 degrees and thesecond incident angle is about 60 to 70 degrees.
 5. The device accordingto claim 1, wherein the signal generating unit generates first imagesignals based on the received light when the light from the light sourceis guided to the object at the first incident angle, and generatessecond image signals based on the received light when the light from thelight source is guided to the object at the second incident angle, thedevice further comprising: an image data generating unit that generatesimage data based on the first image signals and the second imagesignals; and a unit that forms a toner image on a recording sheet basedon the generated image data.
 6. The device according to claim 5, whereinthe image data generating unit generates the image data by adding aproduct of the second image signals and a prescribed coefficient to thefirst image signal.
 7. The device according to claim 6, wherein thecoefficient is larger than 0 and less than or equal to
 1. 8. A devicecomprising: a light source; a first optical member including a firstreflective surface, a second reflective surface and an absorbing surfacefor absorbing light; a second optical member that transforms an incidentlight to a parallel light; a signal generating unit that receives lightand generates an image signal based on the received light; a switchingunit that switches an operation mode of the device to one of a firstimage-input mode and a second image-input mode; a third optical memberthat guides the diffusely reflected light from the object to the secondreflective surface of the first optical member; a fourth optical memberthat guides an incident light to the signal generating unit; a firstdriving unit that moves the second optical member, while in the firstimage-input mode, to a position where the second optical member guidesthe parallel light to the object, and while in the second image-inputmode, to a position where the second optical member does not guide theparallel light to the object; and a second driving unit that varies aposition or orientation of the first optical member, while in the firstimage-input mode, to a position or orientation where the first opticalmember reflects by the first reflective surface the light from the lightsource that directly illuminates the object, guides by the third opticalmember the diffusely reflected light from the object to the secondreflective surface, and reflects by the second reflective surface thelight so that the light is guided to the image generating unit, andwhile in the second image-input mode, to a position or orientation wherethe first optical member guides the diffusely reflected light from theobject to the absorbing surface and guides by the fourth optical memberthe incident light to the signal generator.
 9. The device according toclaim 8, wherein the second optical member is a collimator lens.
 10. Thedevice according to claim 8, wherein the signal generating unitgenerates image signals based on the diffusely reflected light from theobject in the first image-input mode, and generates image signals basedon the specularly reflected light from the object in the secondimage-input mode, and wherein the signal generating unit generates colorinformation indicating colors of the object based on the generated imagesignals in the first image-input mode, and generates texture informationexpressing texture of the object based on the generated image signals inthe second image-input mode.
 11. The device according to claim 8,wherein the length of the light path of the diffusely reflected lightfrom the object guided by the first optical member to the signalgenerating unit is equal to the length of the light path of thespecularly reflected light from the object guided by the second opticalmember to the signal generating unit.
 12. The device according to claim8, wherein the number of the reflections along the light path of thediffusely reflected light from the object guided by the first opticalmember to the signal generating unit and the number of the reflectionsalong the light path of the specularly reflected light from the objectguided by the second optical member to the signal generating unit areeither both odd numbers or both even numbers.
 13. A device comprising: alight source; a beam splitter including a reflective surface and a backsurface of a reflective surface, the reflective surface reflecting lightwhen the beam splitter is illuminated from the reflective surface,whereas light goes through the beam splitter when the beam splitter isilluminated from the back surface; a first optical member including areflective surface and an absorbing surface for absorbing light; a firstdriving unit that varies the orientation and the position of the firstoptical member; a second optical member that transforms an incidentlight to a parallel light; a second driving unit that varies theorientation and the position of the second optical member; a thirdoptical member that guides light diffusely reflected from the object tothe reflective surface of the beam splitter; and a fourth optical memberthat guides an incident light to the signal generating unit, wherein, ina first image-input mode, the first driving unit is configured to varythe orientation and the position of the first optical member such thatthe light from the light source directly illuminates the object, and thelight reflected by the reflective surface of the first optical member isguided to the object at a first incident angle, whereas light diffuselyreflected from the object is reflected by the third optical member andis further reflected by the reflective surface of the beam splitter inthe direction of the image generating unit; and in a second image-inputmode, the second driving unit is configured to place the second opticalmember between the light source and the object so that all the lightfrom the light source is transformed to a parallel light and illuminatesonly the object at the first incident angle, and to control the firstdriving unit to place the first optical member in a position such thatit does not block specularly reflected light from the object, and thespecularly reflected light is further reflected by the fourth opticalmember and goes through the beam splitter in the direction of the imagegenerating unit, whereas the diffusely reflected light from the objectis absorbed by the absorbing surface of the first optical member.